Why do we need to raise the speed limit to 70 mph? Most drivers are presently traveling at 70 to 85 mph on anything that resembles a highway. When it is wet or icy out, they still pass me like I’m standing still. When I dare to drive the posted speed limit of 65 mph (give or take a few mph), I am easily overtaken by the majority of the cars that I had seen in my rear-view mirror. Most do not signal a lane change or they execute the one- or two-turn-signal click, usually when they are already moving into the desired lane.
I rarely see people pulled over for offenses and the public knows that they are unlikely to be pulled over. If the speed limit is increased to 70 mph, then many more drivers will justify going 80 or 85 and maybe 90 mph.
With many more lanes to contend with, distracted driving on the increase — I recently saw a man brushing his teeth while driving — and yes, with a high population of baby boomers out on the road, I'm going to feel about as safe as a swimmer surrounded by a school of hungry sharks. WILLIAM R. RAGLAND, JAMESTOWN
Too many switches in speed limit
I drive often from Beavercreek to Sidney, mainly north using I-75. As I studied the new proposed speed limit map offered by the Dayton Daily News, I see a nightmare if this plan goes into effect. I was very surprised to see how many times the speed limit would change in that one-hour trip … passing through downtown Dayton, then heading through several areas where cities in both Montgomery and Miami County have city limits crossed by I-75.
I would be continually switching in and out of 65 to 70 mph during my trip. Canadian and Michigan snowbirds traversing our state on I-75 would be also very confused with constantly switching legal speeds.
Who benefits from the switch? It would not make the roads safer.
The only thing that could make it work efficiently would be to put the 70 mph limit in effect only if there was a very long stretch of road (minimum 50 to 75 miles perhaps) that would be uninterrupted by urban areas. JILL KINCER, BEAVERCREEK
Speak Up
Raising the speed limit to 70 mph is about as smart as allowing guns in bars. Wise up, people.
Are they kidding? If you drive only 65 mph or 70 mph on I-75, cars will pass you going far faster than you, ready to blow you off the road. How about requiring the current speed limit?
Seventy miles per hour? What a joke. It makes me think our good lawmakers want to cruise into Columbus at 80 mph or more. They surely know that most misfits sail at 75 to 85 mph now. They also must be aware that the police are afraid for their lives, trying to control them. Bring on the cameras and seven times the current fines. We need to stop the killing. Laws are made for safety reasons — even if it saves one life.
A law permitting 70 mph in Ohio is totally unnecessary. More than half of all drivers already drive 70 mph on the freeways, without the new law. If the limit were 70, these drivers would immediately feel free to drive 75. Is that what the backers of the law want?
A few weeks back, I was coming home from Kentucky early Sunday morning and I decided to do an experiment. I got in the right-hand lane and set my cruise control at exactly 65 mph. (Don't try this in anything but the right-hand lane.) From I-275 to I-675, I kept track of how many vehicles I passed versus how many passed me. … The "passed me's" won 154 to 8. Conclusion, if you want to let people drive faster than 65, just keep doing what you're doing.
Let's back up a bit. First the Ohio Statehouse enacted a law prohibiting texting while driving. Excellent. However, because they did not have the good sense to make it a primary offense for drivers over 18, those drivers observed texting while driving will not be pulled over unless they are committing another offense such as speeding. And now they want to raise the speed limit on the interstate? And we pay these people to make our laws?
I drive the speed limit by personal conviction, which isn't easy. I nearly get run off the road by cars and trucks that are speeding and passing me on both sides. When the speed limit increases, I expect everyone will just go 5 mph faster.
Re raising the speed limit to 70: Why has this even come up? Aren't there enough speed-related accidents already? Everyone goes over the speed limit already, including me, because I don't like to be continually passed. The more speed, the more serious the accident. Speeding is a function of the brain, in my opinion, and is addicting. I believe that the act of slowing down and taking a deep breath once in a while would be beneficial to those so addicted.
If they raise the speed limit to 70 and then enforce it, does that mean everyone will actually need to slow down?
Have you ever tried to drive 5 mph? It most likely will not resister on your speedometer. That is the increase that we are going to face when this law goes into effect. Five miles per hour is imperceptible. … Ohio is always the last to catch up with the rest of the country.
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